The big media news over the weekend was the announcement that Chris Wallace was leaving Fox News and the subsequent revelation that he is heading to CNN’s new digital platform, CNN+. While there are a lot of conservatives who have been critical of Wallace over the last couple of years, the move says less about his possible shifting political leanings or what at the network may have driven him out and more about the upcoming shift we’ll be seeing from CNN.
With a corporate merger and new corporate overlords, it’s very likely that CNN is going to be seeing a re-alignment toward its original mission of journalism. Wallace is an important hire. Wallace is an experienced newsman and has proven over the past two years that his toughness toward both the left-leaning and right-leaning sides have been a strength. His reputation is well-respected on multiple networks. It’s a solid public relations move for CNN.
A bit below the surface, though, is the acknowledgment that CNN’s corporate owners realize something Fox News realized a few years ago: Digital content isn’t the future. It’s right now.
Fox Nation has seen an increase in app downloads for some time. Special programming and events like CPAC usually cause huge increases in downloads. With the rise of so many successful streaming apps and the fact that we, apparently, haven’t hit critical mass where people are just giving up on those services and going back to cable. CNN has been late, but Wallace’s hire shows they take it seriously.
They have the ability to show a shift towards balanced reporting or at least an outer appearance thereof, which can give them an edge in the market.
Fox News has remained the dominant force among the 24-hour news channels, and it’s not just because there are more conservatives out there watching the news than progressives. Consider that the big three networks — ABC, NBC, and CBS — have a combined audience larger than Fox. This is because many people are more casual news viewers who only check the local news and leave the news to the networks.
Fox News, CNN and MSNBC are for news-oriented audiences. But the reason Fox draws more isn’t necessarily just their political lean, but the fact that they’ve been honest about it. Because they are honest about it, MSNBC is able to stay competitive. CNN has constantly branded itself as a balanced news organization, but it’s very obvious that they aren’t. Many viewers felt that they were being lied to.
CNN could tap into an angry market of progressives seeking out reasons to be mad while Trump was President. But if you build your hopes on someone’s presidency and then that guy leaves the presidency, you’ve screwed yourself. The corporate editors and producers understand this better then the editors and producers and would like to see CNN go back to being what it was.
I’m just not sure if the combination of streaming and shifting focus will be enough to help CNN recover what they’ve lost in terms of audience and reputation. But, at this point, it can’t hurt to try. CNN will benefit from Wallace in both these areas.
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